Chasing the Haunted
by theAnGerFlarE
Summary: JJ's family was killed in a car accident, and her entire world is turned upside down. Reid, the BAU genius and her best friend, has been carefully helping her through the grieving process. But he feels something, something that he's afraid to admit to her. To make matters worse, a serial killer wreaks havoc on the country, killing people at random.
1. Rest in Peace: Henry and Will

JJ yawned as she sorted through the mountains of papers on her desk. She was up extremely late, even later than Hotchner.

She couldn't help but smile at the thought. No one could stay in the Bureau as late as Hotch.

Glancing at the clock, she was shocked to see that it said 1:24. Mumbling furiously at herself for losing track of time, she gathered up her purse and locked the door soundly behind her.

"JJ." She heard a deep male voice say. She turned to see Hotchner coming toward her with more files in his hands. She felt her heart sink.

"Yes, sir?

"Here is some paperwork that wasn't passed through from the last case," Hotch said tonelessly. "Complete it by Thursday."

_Oh, goddammit. _"Of course, right away." JJ said tiredly.

She about walked away again when Hotch said to her, "Why are you here so late?"

JJ turned to him with a fake smile plastered onto her face. "I...I just had some stuff I had to finish. It's not like I had to go home anyway."

Hotch's mouth twitched slightly before pressing down again in a flat line. "Since the accident...have you been coping well?"

"As well as anyone who's entire family perished, I guess." JJ shrugged and looked down onto the ground, uncomfortable.

"I know what it's like to lose someone that's loved," Hotch said gruffly. "You can't keep it all inside, JJ."

"I'm not." JJ said, miserable. "I visited Henry and Will yesterday after work."

Hotch just nodded curtly. "If you ever need some time off, JJ, don't hesitate to ask."

JJ just said a quiet, "Thanks." before walking down the hall of the Bureau and pushing her way into the parking lot. Tears pricked at her eyes and she furiously wiped at her eyes, not caring if her makeup was smudged. She didn't even know why she tried to look nice anymore, there wasn't anyone to look nice for.

She got into her car with a slam and sunk her head onto the steering wheel, letting sobs rack her body. Mascara and tears splattered onto her pants and stained them, and she gripped onto the steering wheel as hard as she could.

A picture of her, Will and baby Henry sat on the dashboard; and JJ ripped the photo off and stared at it. Her lip quivered and she outlined Will's face. "I miss you so much, baby." she whispered. "The both of you."

The accident still hurt as much as though it had happened yesterday, time wasn't helping JJ's torn up heart. She constantly regretted that night, she wished that Will had not been the one behind the wheel. He was paying attention to Henry in the backseat, not at all paying attention to the road. JJ distinctly remembered laughing at Will as he tried to get Henry to stop throwing stuff at him... None of it seemed so funny now.

The only warning they had was the honking of the car, the drunk driver wildly swerving right into the hilt of their car. JJ only remembered bits and pieces after the impact...she remembered screaming for her son and husband as she lay there strapped in her seat...and then god knows how long later someone ripping off her side of the car and getting her out.

"Hon, your gonna be okay," the paramedic had said to her, strapping her firmly onto the gurney.

JJ just remembered the excruciating pain in her sides, and she screamed out, "Where's my baby? My family...oh..god..my family!"

They hadn't said anything, they simply whisked her off to the hospital. JJ later woke up to the news that both Will and Henry had been killed instantly in the drunk driver accident, and that was a mere three months ago.

It still hurt, just as much.

JJ stopped her crying and looked at the photograph again. _We look so happy. _She thought tearfully. _Oh my god, I miss you both so much. I feel so empty without either of you.. _

She carefully put the photograph back onto her dashboard before wiping the tears and makeup off her face. Taking in a deep sigh, she put the car into drive and slowly drove back home.

Back to her empty, painful home.

* * *

"Alex, hurry the hell up!"

Alex made a face at her friends as they ran up the sidewalk, their skirts flopping behind them. "I'm going as fast as I can in these damn heels, girls. Maybe this party isn't such a good idea."

Her best friend, Lisa, shrugged. "You are such a pussy, Alex. This is our first adult party! Don't you want to hook up with Gordon?"

The mere thought of Gordon made Alex's cheeks blush. He was so gorgeous, and he was the only reason Alex even agreed to go to the party. Parties wasn't her thing.

She winced as she took another step in the heels. "Lisa, you go up ahead. I'll meet you at the house."

Lisa made a face at her. "You bitch. Fine; I'll be waiting!"

Alex just smiled as Lisa ran off up the street, shouting excitedly into her cell phone about the party.

She took off her painful heels and walked along the side of the road barefoot, and looked up at the starry night sky. Nights like these were so peaceful, and she regretting having to spend such a lovely night getting drunk with a bunch of people she didn't know.

But Gordon would be worth it. She smiled.

Something behind her made a cracking noise, startling her. She spun around, seeing nothing but a dark road.

Goosebumps rose on her skin. _Alex, God, its nothing. It's just your imagination because it's dark and your alone. _

This time, she hurried her pace. She ignored the small pains in her feet from the concrete and was walking quickly, hell, almost jogging, to get to the party. Where there was people. She'd be completely safe.

There was another noise behind her, this time the sound of heavy footsteps behind her. Glancing around, Alex realized with a jolt that there was someone following her. A large man with hulking shoulders silently going after her.

Terror drove her forwards, and she started to run.

The footsteps got faster, the noise getting louder.

"Someone help me!" She screamed out.

Something roughly grabbed her arms and jerked her backwards. She flew onto the ground, the concrete scraping into her knees. "God no!" she shrieked. "Let me go!"

Whoever had ahold of her didn't say a word, they roughly took her arm and twisted it backwards. To Alex's horror, she heard a crunching noise and felt her arm go limp. She struggled, but she couldn't get free.

"Let me go," Alex sobbed. "Let me go! I'll do anything!"

Alex let out another scream as she felt a knife being stabbed into her stomach. She let out a babbling scream before she felt her body give up in the man's arms. He stunk so bad, he smelled like blood and body filth.

"Let me go," she whimpered. Alex couldn't move her body anymore, and it was terrifying. "Please..."

"No." The man said simply.

And that's where everything went black.


	2. Unsub

The members of the BAU were gathered around the table, getting ready to be fed the files of a new serial killer. Reid sat back in his chair, patiently drinking his coffee and thinking about the convention he was going to go after work with Rossi. He wasn't looking forward to it, speaking in front of all those people, but Rossi was adamant about it.

"So, Reid," Morgan came in with a smile on his face, as always. "How was your weekend?"

Reid sighed and took another sip of his coffee. "I spend the weekend reading the Trilogy of Psychopaths, by Gregory Menner. It was a very enjoyable read."

Morgan rolled his eyes as he took a seat. "You have no life."

"What you classify as life and what I classify are two completely different things," Reid retorted.

Their brief conversation was silenced as Hotch walked into the room, followed by JJ. Everyone grew quiet as pictures came up on the whiteboard, pictures of a girl who had been strangled and stabbed in the stomach.

"This is Alex Smith, a seventeen year old girl who lives in the suburbs of Washington." JJ began. "Two joggers found her buried in a shallow grave. The paramedics checked her out and saw that her throat was severely bruised and the back of her neck broken. Not only that, but she had been stabbed twice in the abdomen and once in the back."

"MO is clear," Prentiss stated quietly. "This guy clearly likes blood."

"Well we have Alex, who is the third victim this week." JJ stated. "The other two were found just days after one another."

The first slide that came up was of a little boy, the second was of an elderly woman. "Little Jonny Mucker was reported missing a week ago; two days after being reported a couple found him in a park buried in the sand. Clear strangulation marks on the neck- and three stab wounds. One in the back and two in the abdomen."

"What else is there?" asked Hotch.

"There's the old woman, Loretta Johnson." JJ explained. "She was missing for two hours before being discovered- same wounds and cause of death."

"We definitely have a sadist on our hands," Morgan sighed. "Three people in one week. Christ."

Prentiss shrugged. "Gotta give him credit. He works fast."

"There's something rather peculiar about how they died," Reid murmured. "The violence doesn't increase with each victim, instead the time decreases with each victim. Notice he's waited a couple days with the first one, shorter with the second, and almost none with the third. Any sexual assault?"

"None." JJ confirmed.

"Well we need to get to the bottom of it." Hotch said dryly. "We leave for Washington in an hour."

* * *

JJ sat on the airplane and stared out the window. She had the files of the mission on the table in front of her, but she couldn't read them anymore. It was all so depressing- it seemed to impact her even more now. Especially the one of the little boy; he had only been five when he was kidnapped and dumped into playground sand.

She let out a quiet sigh and tried to contain her tears. _Henry would have been six this year. _She thought. _I wonder what Will and I would've done to celebrate. _

There was nothing to celebrate this year. No one to celebrate it with. She would be coming home to an empty house on the holidays, on birthdays. The weekends were dull; JJ had nothing to do or take care of. Everything was so neat and tidy- it made her want to scream and break everything she owned just so she felt she was doing something. Anything.

"JJ?" a soft voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Reid with a large cup of coffee. "Hm?"

"Is anyone sitting here?" he asked her.

She shook her head and continued to stare out the jet window. Reid sat down and put his mug on the table. He saw the pictures of the three dead victims of the unsub; one of which was a five year old little boy.

"Are you alright?" Reid asked softly. "I know I've asked a million times, but I'm asking again."

JJ let out another shaky sigh. "I don't know anymore Reid."

Reid slid his arm across the table and gently touched JJ's arm. "I know you miss them. We all do."

Tears came to JJ's eyes- she desperately tried to keep them in. "Just going home to an empty house...damn..I know how Hotch felt after Haley died. I'm so empty. I always think of that night...what I could've done to save them."

"People always think that there's something they could've done; but not in the heat of the moment." Reid said softly. "They're at peace now, JJ. It's okay."

"I'm not at peace, though." JJ smiled sadly. "But I guess I'll get through it."

"Your a tough girl." Reid gave her a smile. "And besides, you have all of us to help you through it. You have me."

This time, JJ smiled a real smile. Even though her tears. "Thanks for being there for me, Reid. You didn't have to go through all that with me."

"What are friends for?" Reid pushed her some of his coffee; which she drank gratefully.

_Thank God for people like Spencer Reid. _She thought.


	3. Secrets

The small town in Washington was in havoc. By the time Hotch and his team arrived, they were encountered by reporters, frantic mothers clinging onto their children and asking if they should be leaving immediately, and people panicking. Police cars were everywhere, and the police force was trying their hardest to get the crowds of people under control. It wasn't working.

JJ stepped in front of the podium to try and talk to the crowd. "Hello; I am Jennifer Jareau and I'm in the FBI team that will be following the murders of Alex Smith, Jonny Mucker, and Loretta Johnson."

At the sound of those three people, the crowd started to wail. JJ cursed herself before continuing. "We will catch this man, but we need help from the public in order to do so."

The crowd went silent.

"Be safe in what you do. Don't leave anyone by themselves, even if only for a moment. Be in groups and lock your doors and windows at night."

"Do you have a profile of this murderer?" A frantic woman yelled, mascara streaked down her face. In her arms was a little boy, no doubt friends with Jonny Mucker when he went missing.

"Not yet. But when we do- we will let you know." JJ finished.

She stepped off the podium and let the police officer talk, avoiding the woman's desperate eyes as she walked away. She knew exactly how the woman felt- she had felt the same way when the anthrax infection was being spread. JJ had wanted nothing more but to tell Henry to stay home and be safe, and she did even though it could cost her her job.

Hotch caught up to her. "Good work, JJ."

"Thanks," she said, feeling her heart being crushed.

"We need you to talk to the police force and see what you can find. Prentiss will go with you. The rest of us should go the the burial sights and see if we can get a glimpse of anything."

"On it," JJ said. She was now in total work-mode. "I'll call you if I get anything."

* * *

The burial site was crossed off by police tape and guarded fiercely by police forces. Reid climbed underneath the tape and followed Morgan and Hotchner, feeling a spark of anxiety. He always felt this way when visiting the dumping sight of the victims- and he always felt a strange connection staring down at the bodies.

The dumping site they were at was of Alex Smith's. Her body hadn't been removed yet. The girl lay on the forest floor, her eyes wide open and staring up toward the sky. Her bright blue eyes were glassy and expressionless. Big bruises were around her neck, and blood was pooled around her.

"Goddamn." Morgan breathed. "Whoever did this was not merciful."

"No they weren't." Hotch muttered.

Reid stared down at the dead corpse and he suddenly felt as though _he _was the one who was dragged through the grass. Everything around him was getting hazier, and he saw what Alex Smith had seen. Through her eyes.

He felt terror. Reid was screaming on the top of his lungs, but it wasn't his voice that he was hearing. Instead, it was a girl. He had no control over what was happening. Someone was tugging on his arms, someone amazingly strong. He couldn't see, he couldn't see who was attacking him. Something painful stabbed him in the back, oh god what was it?

"Reid, Reid?" Morgan's voice broke through Reid's haze.

Reid blinked and looked at Morgan, who had a confused look on his face. "Are you okay, man?"

"Yeah..yeah." Reid blinked. "Hotch- do you know how long this girl was missing?"

"She wasn't recorded as missing." Hotch said dryly. "I'm guessing she was killed the same night she was taken."

"The Unsub has displayed characteristic traits that most likely display psychotic tendencies toward people, since he has chosen a small child, a teenager, and an elderly woman." Reid rambled. "All same wounds mean that he's extremely violent and angry, and the dump-sites mean that he doesn't care much for the people he's killed."

"The more this Unsub kills; the more violent the killings might get." Hotch muttered. "Get Garcia on the line. We need to know where Alex Smith has been in the last couple days."

* * *

It was so dark. The little boy was crying out in fear, his knees pulled up to his chest. He didn't know where he was.

A bright light suddenly flooded his vision, and he could barely make out the shape of a large lumbering man. In his hands was a bloody knife. The little boy started to tremble in fear.

"You stayed. Good boy." the man growled. He dropped the knife onto the ground with a bloody splat.

The little boy shook his head tearfully. "I want to go home."

"This is your home now." The man lumbered over to his desk and grabbed a strange-looking object. It looked sharp. "I'm the only one who cares about you."

"I want my mommy!" the little boy sobbed. "I want my daddy!"

"They're DEAD!" the man slammed the object onto the desk and it shattered into a million pieces. Shards flew onto the floor near the boy and he nearly wet himself with fear. "Your mommy and daddy are dead!"

The little boy let out a small whimper. "I want my mommy. My mommy."

A smile smirked on the strange man's face. "Your mommy is dead."

He started to cry again. He didn't want his mommy to be dead. He wanted to go home and fall asleep in her arms; even if it meant staying up until really late until she got home. He hated it in this dark, damp place.

"I will be the one to care for you," the man's voice was now soft. "The other little children were not grateful for what I supplied them."

The small boy kept crying.

The man's smile fell into an angry frown. He jerked the little boy onto his feet and stared into the tear-streaked face. "Listen to me, Chase. You will learn the ways of the world from me, you will understand my hatred for the human race."

The little boy kept crying. "My name not Chase. It Henry. It's Henry. I want my mommy!"

"Your name is CHASE!" The man screamed. "Your new name is Chase because I SAID SO!"

The boy didn't say anything more, he just kept crying. _No! My name never Chase! My mommy and daddy named me Henry! I wanna go home!_

"Your mommy made friends with the bad people," The man growled. He shoved the boy against the wall. "She deserved to die."

The bad man didn't say anything more. He simply grabbed the bloody knife off the floor and scowled at the little child, and then locked the door behind him. Leaving him in the dark. Once again.


	4. Henry

The first thing the BAU saw on the news was that a new body had been found. The body of a little boy had been discovered by two construction workers- he had been stabbed three times and was lying facedown in the fresh concrete. The two men had been horrified to see that the boy had been cut in the head by broken glass, and that he had shards of it sticking out of his skull.

Hotch and Morgan were the first ones to be on the scene. Morgan stared down at the body with total disgust on his face. "How the hell can someone do this to a little kid?"

Hotch shook his head. "I don't know, Morgan. But his victim rate is climbing."

By the time Reid had gotten there, there was a mass of crying people located around the dump-site. The boy and his family happened to be well known, the father being the head police officer and the mother the school principal.

His name had been Chase.

* * *

Another body was found. JJ couldn't bring herself to the dump-site, she was afraid she might burst into tears and go after the damn Unsub herself. Such a coward, going after small children who couldn't defend themselves. Going after teenagers in the dark and elderly people who were too frail to do anything themselves. The nerve of some people made JJ want to rip her hair out and take a machine gun to the place.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. _God JJ, it's just your job. Treat it like you've treated all the others. With some pride. _

Pride wasn't something she had a lot of anymore. She had nearly cried every single day since the mission began, and that didn't even count when she went to bed at night.

"Hey JJ." said someone above her.

JJ looked up to see Reid with his usual cup of coffee. He had a glum look on his face; and for Reid that was never good. JJ just gestured to the empty seat. "Hey."

"Did you hear about..." Reid trailed off, unsure if he should say more.

JJ nodded quickly. "Heard about it as soon as those construction guys found him."

Reid swallowed a sip of his coffee. "I visited Alex Smith's body at the dump-site. And JJ; I could see everything."

"Like what?" JJ couldn't help but be immediately concerned. "What did you see?"

Reid stared down at the table, sorry that he had even bought it up.

JJ reached across the table and gently covered Reid's hand with hers. His skin was so soft, like a child's.

"Let me help you, Reid." JJ said quietly.

He shook his head; once more seeing the strange visions of being drug through the grass and being held against his will. The sharp pain in his side came back. "I know what she went through," he muttered. "I could...I don't know..._feel _her being stabbed, I could see it as though I was her..."

"Reid." JJ looked at the genius and felt a pang of sorrow. He didn't deserve this emotion he held. "Look at me, Reid."

Reid looked at her, his face looking paler than snow. "It's selfish of me to say these things to you. With everything you've been through..."

JJ shook her head. "No, hon. Don't do that to yourself."

"I can't help it." Reid said quietly. "I should be helping you move out of the grieving process and all I'm doing is hurting you by reminding you of all these deaths."

A sad look crossed over JJ's face- but she shook her head again. "It was an unfortunate accident. No one could have expected that."

Reid put his hand over JJ's and looked into her eyes; he found himself swimming in a green sea of sadness. He couldn't comprehend what she had been going through the last couple months, he couldn't even imagine. Even though he had spent all his free time with her, helping her, making her live life even though she felt empty; he still didn't do enough.

He could never do enough for her.

"Hey, lovelies." Garcia walked into the room. As soon as she saw JJ and Reid holding hands, she stopped in her tracks with a large smile on her made up face.

Reid quickly let go of JJ and got up awkwardly, accidently knocking over his chair in the process. He muttered an, "I'll see you later, JJ." before stumbling out of the room. He had left his coffee behind.

"Girl." Garcia walked over to JJ and set up the knocked over seat. "Are you alright?"

JJ gave a small shrug before going back through some files. "I've been better."

"Reid's been helping you- hasn't he?" Garcia pressed.

"Of course." JJ murmured. "He's eased a lot of the pain."

Garcia was about to say something more when her cell phone rang. She took it out, with a level of disappointment, and saw that it was Morgan. She answered it with her usual gusto. "Hey sexy babe. What's your deal?"

JJ watched as Garcia's usual happy face turned into horror. She hung up, looking stunned.

"Garcia?" JJ asked quietly.

The tech-analyst looked at JJ, tears springing up in her eyes. "We need to head to the site. They found a note in the dead boy's body. From another boy named Henry."


	5. Chase

There was a note. A cry for help that had been sloppily written on and stuffed in the dead boy's mouth. Garcia looked at the pictures of the body that Hotch had sent her, and she felt tears rolling down her cheeks. She hated to see dead people, and she hated to see dead children the most. The thought of innocent lives snuffed out, the thought that these children would never grow up and taste the chance of freedom made her immensely sad.

The victim, named Chase, was no different from the rest of the victims. No sexual assault, three perfect stabs in the body. Garcia didn't want to know if he had suffered, or if he died quickly. She hoped it was the latter.

Her phone rang and she answered it with a trembled voice. "Garcia speaking."

"Garcia." Hotch said gravelly. "Have you found anything on the boy's history?"

Garcia whisked to her computer and typed as fast as she could, watching as boxes of history from people's lives filled up the screen. She couldn't see anything too significant about this young boy, and nothing about his parents. "No, sir. They seem to fit the bill of a perfect family that lives in the suburbs."

"Well dig deeper. We need to find where Chase was kidnapped at. And search the area for any missing children with the name of Henry."

Hotch hung up.

Garcia typed into the computer, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes.

* * *

Reid had taken the note from the boy, carefully handling it with gloves. The paper was bloody and covered in throat slime- the writing short and scrawled by a toddlers hand. To him, it looked as though whoever had written it hadn't been writing for a very long time.

There was only one word on the paper: **_Henry. _ **

He couldn't trace any fingerprints, there was nothing to it except the fact that there was another boy who was missing, and his name was Henry.

God, he couldn't imagine how JJ would feel when she got the news. Another little boy, with the same name and probably the same age as her dead son. It had only happened three months ago, it wasn't enough time for her heart to heal. Reid had reached out to her, crying along with her for Will and his dead godson. He missed the both of them too, they had always been so open. Will treated him as though they were brothers. He remembered how Henry would always toddle toward Reid with open arms about how he had accomplished something that day. Reid had never been disappointed with Henry's progress, he had been the smartest child Reid had ever met.

Tears sprang to his eyes and he wiped them away, embarrassed. _Focus on the case, Spencer. _

Prentiss walked in, her face grave and her arms full of files. She dumped them onto the table with a sigh, and she looked at him with a painful expression. "Did you get anything?"

Reid shook his head. "No."

"God." she sighed. "This case...this case is different."

Reid kept his eyes on the bloody paper. "How so?"

"Well for one thing, there's no precise victimology. He chooses people at random, taking them whenever he can." Prentiss shuffled through the files and gave him a withering look. "This makes him almost impossible to catch. The only Unsub that was ever like this was Foyet."

"It's not Foyet." Reid said, flickering his eyes up. "He's dead."

"Exactly." Prentiss confirmed. "But what's the chances that there's another Unsub like Foyet out there?"

Reid went over the thoughts in his head. "Statistically; that would be a literal one in a million chance. Most people who kill do it because of a certain personal experience, however Foyet had absolutely no intentions to kill. The motive-"

"Okay, Reid. I get it." Prentiss sighed. "It's far-fetched."

"Impossibly so." Reid put down the note and took off the gloves. "It might be a copycat."

Prentiss shook her head. "That's one hell of a copycat. Garcia should be calling Hotch about the whereabouts on the rest of Chase's family here soon. Hopefully, there's something that can link us to the missing boy named Henry."

"Henry." Reid mused quietly. "Do you think there's a connection?"

"A connection between what?"

"JJ and this Unsub." Reid said, his voice trembling. "This case started after the accident."

Prentiss looked down at the note, the name _**Henry **_scrawled on the bloody paper. "I don't know. Maybe it was just a coincidence."

"Interesting coincidence." Reid muttered.

* * *

JJ entered the graveyard, carefully treading on the stone path. She always hated going to graveyards at night, it never felt right to intrude on people during time of rest. It wasn't helping that rain was drizzling down, drenching everything with shiny slick water.

But she had to do it. She couldn't keep avoiding the case anymore and pretend that it was a normal one. It wasn't.

She stepped in front of the new gravestone and gently placed her flowers with all the other ones. Chase's grave was beautifully framed with delicate flowers and small stuffed animals; everything that a child would want. It bought tears to her eyes to see another life being ripped from Earth.

"Hi Chase." she murmured softly. "My name is Jennifer Jareau from the BAU."

There was no answer. Just the sound of the rain.

"I'm sorry about the way you died." JJ said tearfully. "No child should ever have to go through that. I hope you didn't feel any pain."

Thunder gently rumbled.

"I used to have a little boy your age, Chase. His name was Henry." Tears splattered onto her blouse. "He died in an accident, along with his father. They're both buried in Virginia, in a little graveyard just like this. I visit them every chance I get, just like your Mother and Father probably do."

The rain let up for a moment, water dripping on the beautiful stone. JJ wiped her face. "I swear to you, Chase. I swear my team and I will catch whoever did this."


	6. Lenny

It was time for his daily jog. Each morning he was supposed to run one mile and one mile exactly so that his heart wouldn't give out, doctors orders. He still took his medicines each day, and his wife was forcing him to eat healthier. In fact, he had never felt so good about himself.

Gary looked in the mirror and smiled as he adjusted his headband. His wife always made fun of it because it looked nerdy, but he didn't care how nerdy it looked.

"Gary, are you going for your jog now?" he heard his wife's voice float from the kitchen.

"Yeah." he called out, pulling on his shoes.

He stepped into the kitchen and saw his wife cooking something on the stove. He felt a small warm light when he saw her, his love of 27 years. She was the only person who stood by his side the whole time and was the one who never left his bed when he was in the hospital from the heart attack. His wife gave him the_ look. _"Have you eaten enough?"

"Nag nag nag, woman." Gary rolled his eyes but gave her a loving kiss. "Yes I did. Now, I'll be back within the hour."

"Drink plenty of water." was his wife's only response.

He chuckled to himself as he started to jog at a slow pace. The sun was shining high in the sky and the birds were chirping..he couldn't have asked for a better day. There was even a gentle breeze flowing along. A smile spread on his face as he saw children out and riding their bikes and playing on the streets.

Gary crossed the street and jogged into the entrance of the forest preserve. Forest leaves crunched under his feet as he ran on the path. There wasn't a person in sight- and gentle sunlight filtered through the leaves. Peace and quiet. Just what he needed.

He heard something loud thumping behind him, and before he could turn around and see what it was something was upon him. He let out a loud scream as a hard fist pummeled into his face. Gary felt his body thump onto the hard ground and rolled over twigs and sticks. He briefly caught sight of a masked man, a knife held in one of his hands.

"God, no!" Gary pleaded, half sobbing. His heart was thumping so hard...too hard... He let out a loud gasp as something in his chest lurched painfully.

"Do not beg." the man's voice was rough.

Gary let out a quivering gasp as he felt his heart turn into blubber, barely functioning. Something sharp stabbed into his side, over and over. Black dots riddled his vision.

"My wife...my wife.."

"Your wife is nothing." the man stabbed Gary in the chest and watched as blood poured from the cavity. Gary gave one last gasp of air before dying, blood bubbling from his mouth. The man grinned in satisfaction. "Chase."

A small boy emerged from the shadows, staring down at the dead body with horror. He glanced at the masked man, tears streaked down his face.

"I want you to finish him." the man muttered, ripping his knife across the Gary's stomach. Blood and body parts spilled from the rip, covering him with lovely life-water. He took off his mask and raised his bloody hands to his face and licked the dripping blood from his hands, and smiled. "Chase, now."

The boy whimpered and came forward with a knife, his tiny hands shaking with fear. He didn't want to hurt the poor man. He was too scared.

The pleased look was replaced by one of anger, and the man stabbed the knife into Gary's leg. "Now!"

"I don't want to, Lenny." the boy whimpered. "I don't want to."

Lenny rose from the ground, blood smeared on his face and his clothing. The small boy backed up, falling onto the ground in terror. "Boy, you will do what I tell you! I'm your father, remember?"

"No." the boy started to sob. "My daddy is nice..."

"Fine!" Lenny roared. "If you won't do it, I'll SHOW YOU!"

Roughly grabbing the knife from the trembling boy, Lenny stomped over to the mutilated body and slammed his boot into the skull. It cracked and smushed into itself with a satisfying _squish__, _complete with runny brains and fluid. Taking the knife, he gently slit open the throat of the dead man and removed the windpipe. It was dripping with delicious red water, thick mucus slid out of it and onto the ground. It was going to make a delightful piece to his collection. Now the boy..

He turned to the crying child, disgusted. "Chase! How will you ever learn if you don't try it yourself?"

"I don't wanna." the small child cried. "Stop calling me Chase! My name not Chase!"

Lenny shook his head and stuffed the windpipe in his damp pockets. He jerked the crying boy upwards and hoisted him onto his shoulders, muttering the entire way. "If I called you Henry, then that would take all the fun out of it now wouldn't it?"

* * *

"Speak and be heard." Garcia said triumphantly as she pulled up a map of the entire town. She had just found some very interesting information on the Unsub that she thought that she should share with the rest of the team, but Morgan had called her first.

"Baby, did you research the note?" Morgan's smooth voice came over the phone.

"Why yes I did." Garcia smiled to herself. "And not only did I find some peculiar fingerprints on the note, but I also found some various missing child reports all around Washington. Now before you tell me that missing children are common everyday occurrences, these are not."

"Talk to me, baby girl."

"Well out of all the missing children in Washington; there's a huge chunk of them that have the exact same hair and eye color, along with same age. Most of them had long blonde hair, male, with blue eyes. And get this; all of them around five or six years of age."

Morgan sighed on the other end. "That's really precise, Garcia. Is that all?"

"Going back to the fingerprints on the note, I have come to the conclusion that they belong to the dead little boy of Chase himself." Garcia typed into the computer furiously and downloaded the information into an e-mail. "I don't know how his prints ended up on the note or how it was found in his throat, but the prints are clearly his."

"Thank you, sweet-pea. Reid and Prentiss are working on a profile now. We'll call you back when we get something."

"Copy that, my sexy man." Garcia hung up with a flourish before typing on her computer again.

The large list of missing children was chilling. She hoped that it wouldn't get any larger.


	7. Strange feelings

Reid was jolted awake by his cell phone. The obnoxious ringtone was blaring in his ear, that horrible song by that one girl..Nicki Minaj. Emily Prentiss thought it'd be the funniest thing in all of history to take his phone and switch his ringtones. He made a mental note to change it later. "Hello?" he asked sleepily. _  
_

"You awake, genius?" Morgan laughed on the other end.

Reid rolled his eyes and sat up, shaking the messy blankets from his bed. "I am now. Why are you calling me.." he took a quick glance at the clock and was stunned to see it reading 4:30 am. "..so early? Did something happen with the case? Are there more missing children, or another body?"

Morgan continued to laugh on the other end, much to Reid's irritation. "Nah, I was just bored and decided to have some fun."

"You son of a bitch." he grumbled.

"Don't be crabby now, Spencer." Morgan said smoothly. "It's Saturday, and we've got the day off. Enjoy your life a little."

"I was going to enjoy sleeping in."

A low chuckle on the other end of the phone. "Not anymore, pretty boy. We're going to have some fun today."

* * *

"Is this really necessary?" Reid shook his head as Morgan continued to chow down doughnuts. He had barely touched the food, he was mostly too tired and grumpy to be eating anyway.

Morgan just smiled and sipped his coffee. "It's entirely necessary. I work my ass off all week, so I think I deserve a little splurge now and then."

Reid pointed to the crumbs that trailed off the table and on the floor. "I don't think that's splurging. That's called being gluttonous, Morgan."

"I call it delicious." Morgan threw his napkin on the table and looked at his cell phone.

Rolling his eyes, Reid took a piece of doughnut for himself. Morgan could be such an ass when he wanted to be. He looked around the small shop and felt the comforting lights draw him back to a time that was similar to this one. One where he was younger and his mother had just made him fresh baked cookies. He wondered if JJ had made Henry fresh-baked cookies like his mother made him...

"Reid." Morgan's voice snapped him out of his dream. "Are you alive, man?"

Reid shook his head and stared at Morgan. "Hm?"

"Okay, your either still thinking about our case or your off in dream-land."

"I.." Reid cleared his throat awkwardly. "Kind of both."

"So spill it." Morgan took another sip of his coffee and leaned backwards.

"Now's really not the time."

Morgan shook his head. "Don't do that to me, Reid. C'mon man, you can't keep those thoughts in your crazy brain forever. You'll eventually implode."

Reid pressed his lips together. "Technically, I wouldn't implode. I'd just go insane."

"Just shut up and tell me."

_Here goes nothing, I guess. _"I was just thinking of JJ and Henry."

A sad look crossed Morgan's face as he remembered Henry. He had loved that little kid, and even though Reid was the godfather he was looking forward to teaching the boy how to play football and be a bad-ass, which he knew would drive JJ insane. He even loved Will and his quick remarks; losing the two of them almost felt like losing two of his own family.

"What about them?" he asked dryly.

"Wondering if JJ ever made cookies for Henry like my mother used to." Reid mused.

The very thought of JJ making cookies for her little boy made Morgan smile. "That would be pretty freaking cute, I gotta admit."

Reid just nodded and seemed to be off in dreamland again. Morgan thought he saw a strange twinkle in the genius's eye, and then he had a strange sinking feeling in his chest. A mischevious smile spread across his face. "Reid?"

"What?"

He couldn't help but smile bigger. "You have a crush on JJ don't you?"

Reid's face turned beet red as he spluttered. "N-no! Why..why would you t-think that?!"

"Because your avoiding eye contact with me, and your sweating." Morgan pointed out. "You've started to stutter, which means your nervous about something. As soon as I mentioned JJ and you in the same sentence, I saw your eyes flicker with interest."

Reid's mouth gaped open. "I hate profilers."

Morgan laughed. "I bet you do, kid."

* * *

**Sorry it's a little short, I didn't feel like being too violent in this chapter since it's the holidays. Oh, speaking of which, HAPPY HOLIDAYS. May your days be filled with happiness, love, and a freaking ton of cookies. I really hope everyone's who's following is enjoying what's happening. **

**Please review. :)**


	8. Broken Glass and Blood

JJ sighed to herself as she watched the woman on TV hug her baby. She picked up another spoonful of ice cream and drank more of her chocolate milk. The entire weekend she had off she had spent in her tiny apartment with the shades drawn, she hadn't bothered to take a shower or brush her hair, and she had been in the exact same spot the entire time. Except for the time where she had to go to the bathroom, she literally sat there watching TV and crying.

Her life was pathetic.

She threw the empty ice-cream carton across the room and sighed again. She wondered when the hell she was going to get over this. Get over...Will and Henry's death. They were in a better place now; she had to understand that.

Her phone rang; scaring her. Groaning, she lazily reached her hand across the table and grabbed her phone. "JJ."

"Hey. It's me, Emily." her voice rang out strongly from the other side. "Wow. You sound like hell."

"Thanks." JJ grumbled, taking a bite from a cookie she had stashed in her hoodie. "What do you want?"

"I want to know why your sitting holed up in your apartment when you could be out having fun." Emily scoffed, clearly unimpressed by JJ's use of time. "Seriously, JJ. It's nice out today. You could visit hang out with Spencer."

"Spencer?" JJ immediately dropped the cookie from her hand and brushed off the crumbs, suddenly aware of how she probably looked. "No..I-I haven't showered! Or.." she desperately looked for an excuse.

"You're making up reasons not to go because you're a weenie." Emily said all profiler-like. "Get off your ass before Garcia and I drag you ourselves."

"Fine, fine." JJ muttered, pushing herself off the couch. "So demanding."

"You got that. We'll see you in thirty." Emily said simply before hanging up. JJ rolled her eyes and rummaged through her luggage to find some clean clothes.

It was so unlike her to get so lazy. She usually did her laundry as soon as she dirtied them, to prevent bacteria buildup and stuff. But lately she hadn't felt like doing much, she had to convince herself to eat sometimes. Working at the BAU was the only push that she had at the moment... and seeing Spencer...

She shook her head. No. She could NOT like Spencer. The poor kid had his heart broken by enough terrible girls, and she didn't want to be added onto that list. Besides, Spence only liked her as a friend. Yeah- sometimes he liked to ramble to her about random nerdy stuff that she had no idea about, but she still listened. And it was fun to listen to him talk, it was like a distraction from her life.

But moving on meant forgetting. And JJ didn't want to forget about Will and Henry.

As she took a shower and got dressed like a normal human being, JJ actually felt a little like herself again. She took a look in the mirror as she brushed her hair, she swore she heard Will and Henry calling for her, ready to go out on a nice Sunday afternoon.

Tears prickled at the back of her eyes. She glanced behind her and saw no one there, her husband and little boy was merely a figment of her imagination. That made the reality so much worse.

With an angry yell, JJ punched the glass mirror. The glass shattered under her fist, the small shards flying to the ground. She punched the mirror again, and again, until she could no longer see anything but rivulets of blood smeared on the broken glass. She screamed angrily, not feeling the pain, as she took the broken mirror and threw it at a wall. It exploded into a rain of glass, raining down on her.

JJ angrily marched to the broken mirror and stomped on the broken frame, her feet getting punctured by the sharp metal and glass.

Finally, her anger simmered down into a whimper. She stopped moving altogether; the pain of her wounds finally sinking in.

Her hands were covered with deep, blood scratches. They were dripping blood into puddles on the floor, with no sign of stopping. Horrified, she glanced down at her feet and saw the same thing.

JJ crashed to the floor, her head spinning. She was losing a massive amount of blood, and she knew it.

Crawling to the phone to call someone, anyone, her hands trembled from the painful cuts. Every movement was excruciating. Her hand slammed on the table where her phone was, and she crept closer to it. Finally her hand grasped around something painfully cold, and with a scream she threw it across the room. The phone hit the wall and broke, much to JJ's dismay.

"Shit." she muttered. She couldn't move anymore, she was too tired.

JJ rested her head on the glass scattered floor, her vision swimming in her eyes. "God.." she whispered. "Reid... help me.."


	9. She'll Make It Through

Emily Prentiss stood in the white hall of the hospital, hearing the nurses bustle by with their small pagers.

"Need to get to the ICU.."

"Four stats of blood needed immediately!"

"Blonde girl, named Jennifer Jareau, massive loss of blood from hands and feet..."

Emily turned her head and saw someone being rolled away to the Intensive Care Unit. She tightened her lip in pain as she recognized the small figure on the gurney: it was JJ. She was unconscious from the loss of blood; her face was pale and her blonde hair was draped over the pillow in a bloody, tangled mess. Emily wanted to run to her side and tell her to keep going, not to fall in on herself and die, but she couldn't move. It was as if she was glued to the hospital floor.

Her phone rang, breaking her out of her daze. She looked at it. Hotch. "Prentiss."

"Emily. What the hell happened to JJ?" Hotch demanded, his voice hoarse. She could hear Jack mumbling worriedly in the background.

"She lost it. She managed to break a mirror and scrape herself pretty badly. She's lost a lot of blood and it looks critical." Emily swallowed back a sob. "They just wheeled her in to the ICU."

"Are you okay, Emily?" Hotch asked, his voice gentler.

"JJ...I don't know..this happened after I called her." Emily sat down, suddenly exhausted. "We..Garcia and I were planning to have some fun tonight and we wanted JJ to come. She's been so sad...and.."

"I understand." the rough voice was back. "Don't blame yourself. It was her choice to do what she did."

"It wasn't her choice to lose her family." Emily argued. "Hotch, I think this case is too much for her. Seeing that dead child and note, I think it made something snap."

"I know." Hotch said simply.

Emily was infuriated. "Then why didn't you tell her to go home until the case was over!?"

"I did. She insisted on staying to help." Hotch said calmly. "The team will be at the hospital in the next fifteen minutes. Call me if anything happens, okay?"

"Okay." she flipped her phone shut, nearly crushing the thing in her grip. Why the hell would JJ do this to herself? It was torture.

Emily sat there for the next half an hour, waiting for her team to arrive. An hour ticked by, and still no one she knew was there. She tightened her lips together angrily; fifteen minutes her ass. No doctor came out to tell her what was going on, and it only made her more worried. Horrible scenarios flipped through her mind: JJ dying on the table just as the doctor sutured her hands and feet, all her blood bleeding onto the floor until there was nothing left but a husk..

"Emily!" she heard a familiar voice, much to her relief. She turned her head to see Reid running towards her, panic on his face. "What...what happened?" he panted.

"I don't know yet." Emily muttered as more the team showed up behind him, their faces red from running. "Where the hell were you guys? Hotch said fifteen minutes!"

"We got another murder." Morgan said bitterly. "Right on the side of the highway."

Emily breathed out, feeling her stomach twist. "What? Is it the same Unsub?"

"We believe so." Morgan nodded.

"Little girl went missing from a playground two hours ago," Garcia said, her voice tearing up. She wiped at her eyes. "Her body was found shortly in a ditch. Naked and mutilated. Sick son of a bitch left another note in her throat."

Emily was speechless. She tried to grasp what was happening in her mind. The Unsub wasn't making any sense; he had random victims. First a little boy, than a large man, and now a little girl. Each with different ways of killing and disposal. She shook her head. "What did the note say?"

"Help me." Reid said, clearing his throat. "That's all it said."

"It was a kid's handwriting, Emily." Morgan said, gazing at her with a sad expression on his face. "The kid is no more than five."

"Oh my god.." Emily rubbed her hands on her temple. "No one has any idea who this guy is, or how the girl went missing? That should give us a clue."

Rossi shook his head at her question. "She just disappeared into thin air, it seems."

Just as the agents were discussing the new murder, a doctor in a clean white gown came up to them. He pulled the bloodied mask down from his face and addressed them in a deep voice. "Are you the family of Jennifer Jareau?"

"Yes." Reid said at once.

The doctor gave him a strange glance before continuing. "Well, she lost a lot of blood. The cuts on her hands and feet are deep, and we had to give her a dose of antibiotics to insure no chance of infection. She's been all stitched up, but she'll need to stay here overnight for observance."

"She doesn't need to be observed." Reid snapped. "If she's okay, then she can come home now!"

"Reid, she's probably asleep." Morgan whispered.

The doctor gave them another strange look. "She is. She'll be out for a while."

"Uh..Doctor-" Emily took a quick glance at his name tag. "Doctor Haysworth. How long until we can see her?"

Doctor Haysworth gestured them toward him. "You can see her now. But not for very long, she needs to stay in a sterilized place."

The team followed the doctor down the white hall, keeping quiet as they past the rooms. They were lead to a small room at the end of the hall, a bed near the window. JJ lay in the bed, a ventilator hooked to her mouth. Her chest rose largely with each breath. The doctor bid them a quick farewell and left to do his duties while the agents went to their teammate.

"JJ..." Reid muttered quietly as he walked towards her. She looked so defeated lying in the bed, white bandages completely covering her hands. They couldn't see her feet, but they knew they would see the exact same thing.

"Why'd you do it, JJ?" Morgan asked softly, his voice gentle. He put a trembling hand on her arm, to bring her comfort. "C'mon baby, you know better than that."

"She's been through a lot." Garcia said, wiping more tears from her eyes.

"She'll make it through alright." Emily said, gazing at her friend with tears in her eyes. "She'll make it."

* * *

"NO!" Lenny pounded his desk angrily, the wood under his fist splintering. Why couldn't he do anything right!?

He had messed up. He had put his trust into that bastard of a little boy; telling him with explicit detail on how to kidnap and kill a human being. With all of his training and studying of the human body; he knew exactly how to kill. The little boy even listened attentively, never being distracted like all the others. But he still managed to fuck everything up.

The stupid boy had kidnapped some spoiled brat at the park. And he had done a sloppy job with it too, clumsily tying the hands behind her back and apologizing fiercely with each knot. And then; the stupid boy refused to kill her. Lenny had to do the job himself, and as much as he enjoyed cutting open the stupid little bitch, a bitter taste rose in his heart. How could the tradition carry on if Henry refused to take his new name and new family?

The phone on Lenny's desk rang, keeping him out of his thoughts. He answered it. "Hello?"

"We need you." was the quick reply. The person on the other end hung up.

Lenny growled. Slamming the phone down, he grabbed his clipboard and stepped out the door, continuing his rounds.


	10. Don't Leave Me

_"Mommy?" a sweet little boy voice asked. JJ looked over and saw Henry gazing up at her with an innocent smile on his face. "Good morning, mommy!" _

_"Hi, baby." JJ whispered, barely believing her eyes. Tears slipped down her cheeks. _

_Henry looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. "Mommy, why you cry?"_

_JJ wiped the tears from her face and gave her son a large smile. "I'm crying because I'm so happy to see you Henry. Mommy..." her voice cracked. "Mommy misses you." _

_"I miss you too, mommy." Henry ran in her arms, wrapping his tiny arms around her neck. "Daddy and me miss the cookies you make." _

_JJ laughed, feeling her heart swell with aching familiarity. "Doesn't Daddy make cookies for you in heaven?"  
_

_Henry shook his head and gave her a little boy smile. "He don't make them as good as you." _

_"It's impossible for me to surpass your cookies, honey." a familiar Southern sounding voice rang out. JJ gasped and turned around, seeing Will standing there. He was wearing the same clothes he did at his funeral, a nice dress shirt and khakis. He gave her a huge smile, his eyes sparkling. _

_"Will..." JJ could barely speak. Henry clung to her legs._

_"Don't be afraid, mommy." Henry whispered. _

_JJ stepped forwards, her hands trembling. She reached over to touch Will's face, and the moment she felt his soft skin underneath her fingers she started to cry. She jumped into his arms and heaved against his chest, feeling his warmth against hers. Will wrapped his arms around her and gently kissed her head; something she so desperately missed. Henry ran to them and hugged their legs as though it was a group hug. _

_"God.." JJ sobbed. "God Will. I miss you so much. I miss you so much." _

_"Shh.." Will whispered against her hair, gently running his hands through the blonde strands. "Shh baby, it's okay. It's all okay." _

_"No it's not. Your gone, and Henry's gone, and I'm all alone." JJ shook her head fiercely. "I want you back, Will. I want you and Henry back." _

_"But I'm with you all the time." Will whispered gently, looking into her eyes with a sad smile on his face. "No matter where I am, I'm always with you. I promise." _

_"But I want you with me in life." JJ whimpered. "Please.." _

_"I can't." Will mourned softly. "But you don't need me. You have Reid. He'll take care of you sweetpea. I know he will." _

_JJ shook her head. "Will, I don't want him that way. Just you! Just you!" she pleaded._

_Will cocked his head backwards, as though he heard something. "Honey, I have to go. They need me now." _

_"No!" she screamed, her voice tearing. "No, Will! Don't go! Please don't go!"_

_Will looked back at her, his face lucid and his body transparent. Henry was nowhere to be found, but JJ couldn't think about that. All she could think about was Will fading away from her. _

_"Please!" JJ tried to jump forward and grab him, but she felt something pulling her back. She couldn't move. "Don't go Will! Please! Come back! Come back!" _

_Will gave her a sad gaze. "I love you, Jennifer. Never forget that, okay?" _

_"No, Will..." JJ started to cry, her heart breaking in half. "Please don't go..."_

_Will just blew her a kiss before his body blew to pieces, fading in the invisible wind. JJ let out a scream of pain as she realized that she was alone, both her son and husband were as gone as they came. She could still feel his touch on her skin, and her baby's voice echoing through her head._

_"Come back!" she wailed. "Please! Please!" _

* * *

"Restrain her." the doctor ordered. JJ's body spasmed in random directions, an inhumane wail coming from her as she screamed. She wasn't awake or conscious; but she was trapped in what seemed like a dream-state. JJ let out another scream and nearly smacked Dr. Haysworth in the face.

Her team stood in the corner of the room, looking completely horrified at JJ's random screaming. They had never seen anything like it before (except Reid, who read about it); and none of it could say a word. They watched in stunned silence as Dr. Haysworth finally calmed her down; JJ's body relaxing onto the bed and the horrible screaming stopped.

"What just happened?" asked a tearful Garcia, who looked completely terrified.

"She experienced a nightmare while unconscious." Dr. Haysworth fixed his glasses and straightened his clothing. "It happens some of the time, but never as severe as that."

"She's experienced some trauma." Rossi said quietly.

"Ah, well- I recommend giving her some space when she wakes up." the doctor said placidly. "She might remember the nightmare, or she might not."

The doctor left the room, leaving the entire team in complete silence.

For the next five hours, all the team did was sit in the same room as JJ. Reid sat by her bedside the entire time, gently brushing the splayed hair from her face. He wished fervently for her to wake up, to be okay, to be happy as she once was. But a tiny voice inside of him told him otherwise. While the other members occasionally left the room to talk to Hotch about the new murder, Reid stayed put. Sometimes Morgan would gently talk to JJ and sing her songs; and Garcia was working on a drawing that she thought would make JJ smile. Everyone was trying to busy themselves with something to make JJ feel better, but the case still lingered on their minds.

* * *

By the time JJ actually opened her eyes, a few more hours had passed by. She had no idea of what time it was, or where she was at first. As she looked around her more, she actually realized she was in a hospital. She tried to make a noise for someone to come and get her, but her voice didn't seem to work.

The memory of her dream still burned in her brain. Her skin still prickled at Will's lingering touch, and his voice whispered in her mind. "_I love you, Jennifer. Never forget that okay?" _

She choked back another sob. It had been nothing but a dream, a horrible painful dream that came from her memories, and her aching desire to be with her family again. Why the hell did this happen to her? Why couldn't she just be happy, and have her family back? Her emotions were tumbling around in her brain like a tornado, and she was unable to think.

She saw Spencer Reid sitting beside her, passed out in a chair. His head drooped to the side as he slept, a book about physics splayed on his lap. Despite her dream, she bit back a smile. With a trembling hand, she reached out and gently touched his hand. Reid jumped awake and looked over at her, a wild look on his face. "JJ!?"

She gave him a placid smile.

"Oh my god." Reid breathed, jumping off his chair faster than JJ had ever seen. He rushed at the doorway and yelled. "You guys! JJ's awake!"

Within seconds, the entire BAU were crammed into the tiny hospital room, gushing over her. Even though JJ couldn't speak, she still smiled at their generosity and held each of their hands. Garcia let out a small wail as she hugged her blonde friend, telling her over and over to never do anything like that again. The doctor came in and gave her some water to drink; scribbling something on his clipboard as he told her of the medicines to take. JJ scarcely listened, she kept her eyes on her team.

After a heartfelt goodnight, they left the room and promised to be back the next day after work. Prentiss blew her a kiss goodbye, reminding her of the dream with Will. The only one who remained was Reid; he took a seat on the chair next to her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently, handing her another glass of water.

JJ shook her head. "Fine." she croaked.

"You worried me." he gave her a concerned glance. "You worried all of us."

"I'm sorry." JJ shook her head, feeling a little guilty. "I..I don't know what happened.."

"I do." Reid gave her a sad gaze.

JJ cocked her head, brushing her hair behind her head. "And what is that, Dr. Spencer Reid?"

His face blushed red at the comment, but he continued anyway. "You miss Will and Henry. Your brain comes up with psychological delusions that you couldn't handle and you lost control of your emotions..." he started to ramble.

"I know." she cut him off, half amused. "You don't need to recite it to me, Spence."

Reid's face turned an even deeper red. "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't be." she sighed, setting the glass of water on the table beside her. "Your right. I miss them, Spence. I miss them a lot."

"It's normal to." his voice was a whisper, and he was looking away.

JJ put a hand on his shoulder, even though it hurt like hell to move. "It's okay though," she said softly. "No matter how sad I get, there's nothing to bring them back. Besides, Will...he would want me to be happy."

"Henry too." Reid said, his large brown eyes full of sadness. "Henry wouldn't want to see you sad."

"I know..." she trailed off, feeling tears prickle at her eyes again. She tried to stop them from falling, but she couldn't. Instead she started to cry softly.

Reid's eyes widened. "JJ, don't cry. Please..I..don't cry."

JJ kept crying, unable to stop. The dream was burned into her mind, their voices echoing around like a player on loop. How she had begged Will not to go, she had lost control and dignity as she pleaded with anything to let him stay with her for only one more minute. He blew a kiss before he disappeared; something that she had seen Will so many times. She had always thought it was silly and sweet, but now she thought of how precious it really was. She had taken advantage of it, and now it was gone.

"JJ.." Reid was speechless. Unable to say anything, he sat on the bed and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned onto his shoulder easily, curling onto his lap. She sobbed against his shirt, curling her scratched hands into painful fists. Reid didn't do anything but hold her tightly in his arms, gently brushing her hair with his hands.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." JJ choked, lifting her head up off Reid's chest. "Y-you don't need this.."

"No, it's okay." he spluttered, trying to find the right words. He wasn't used to holding any girl, especially one like JJ. "You need to let it out."

JJ sniffed once and gave him a smile before falling back onto him, feeling relieved and grateful all at once. Even though she had spent most of the day sleeping in the hospital, she felt her eyes close heavily.

In moments, she was asleep. Reid just let her sleep on, unwilling to wake her up.

The both of them sat there, innocently entwined.

Neither of them new that they were being intensely watched; an angry man staring at his two new victims.


	11. Never letting go

_Let me just say, I'm really sorry for not updating. Since like January. _

_My life has been a little hectic. No excuse, I know, but that's the best I got. Thank you for the people who are still following this story and who are reviewing. _

_By the way, I'm changing this story rating to "M" for future chapters. I'm sorry if this deters anyone. _

_Please enjoy the story. I'll be updating a lot faster now. _

* * *

JJ woke up, still in the hospital bed, her body spooning carefully against someone. She blinked and tried to see through the darkness, but she recognized the messy hair netherless. It was Reid, lying down in the bed next to her. She sighed as she remembered when she had last awoken, she had been crying over Will and Henry and she had fallen asleep. He must have stayed with her, not wanting to leave her in the hospital by herself. It was a sweet gesture on his part- she appreciated it.

Despite that, she let out a soft groan of pain. Her hands were still bandaged tightly, and now she could actually feel the throbbing of her injuries. Whatever drugs the doctors had put her on had now worn off, and now she felt like she was encased in a tomb of pain.

There was a soft sigh coming from Reid as he wrapped an arm around her, nuzzling his head in her shoulders. He was fast asleep.

JJ couldn't help but chuckle. Silly genius. Why was he here when he should be back at the BAU, researching the case? Surely there were better things to do in his time than sleep in a hospital bed, next to her.

She made a face as she remembered the case. Hotch hadn't really updated her, but she had a feeling that while she was throwing her temper tantrum, something else had happened. She hoped to God that another child hadn't been taken, but she knew that thats what the Unsub would've done. They were only children, as old as Henry used to be. What were their mothers and fathers thinking? They were probably devastated, panicking, and wondering where their baby was.

JJ sniffled and tried to maintain her composure. Will would want her to move on and be happy, and she knew that. He was always good like that, always pushing her to do what was best for her and the family. Henry would want her to be happy too. The both of them were selfless by nature, and here she was, being selfish.

She had a job to do. She was letting her emotions getting in the way of her career; something that she was warned against doing in college. _"Don't let your heart get to you doing a case." _A professor once told her. _"It'll only lead to insanity later." _

Insanity indeed. She felt like she was slowly losing her grip on reality. With every dead body that was found, the more she dug into the Unsub's life and finding out more about the case, the more she felt like Henry and Will were hovering near her. They weren't **there, **but their ghosts still hung around like painful reminders.

Reid muttered something unintelligible in his sleep, having some sort of dream. JJ found herself snuggling closer to him, putting her head against his chest and wrapping her own arm around his waist. It felt... nice. She missed having someone close to her this way, and as much as she loathed to admit it, she really missed having someone hold her as she slept. It made her feel safe from the horrors she saw everyday. And now, laying in Reid's arms on the hospital bed, she felt strangely at peace. The heartache she had felt moments earlier had disappeared, replaced only by the need to stay the way they were. For the first time in what felt like centuries, she managed to smile. It wasn't a fake smile, the smile she forced on everytime she walked into work, but a real smile.

She was lucky to have a friend like him. Ever since she had found out about her family's fate, Reid had been there for her, helping her through all of her moments. She remembered how Reid would show up at her house every morning after the funeral, usually with Starbucks coffee and some breakfast for them to share. It was those little quirks that she liked.

Even the constant babbling about trivial things. She liked that the most.

The only sound in the room was the strange ticking of the clock, and the shuffling of the nurses outside. The door was closed, but she could still see the shadows underneath. JJ briefly wondered what day it was, what had happened that day at the BAU, what was going on with the case. It was the only way she felt like she was gaining some control back in her life.

There was another soft groan, this time Reid twisting and turning in the bed. At first she thought that he was merely sleep talking, but after a couple moments, he started to yelp loudly like he was witnessing a death. JJ lifted her head and gently jostled his shoulder. "Reid..?"

* * *

_Reid was standing in a field, all by himself. The sky above him was dark and heavy, rain threatening to shower down on him at the last minute. He looked back down at the ground, back at the single gravestone in the dirt. He felt a wave of sadness wash over him as he realized that he couldn't read the name of the deceased person's grave. It was blank and grey, staring back up at him. _

_Rain started to fall on him, soaking him down to his bones. It wasn't normal rain though, it was heavy and the drops were crimson red. He looked down at his arms in horror, they were coated in red liquid and his shirt was dripping with it. He let out a cry and rapidly wiped off the blood, screaming as it poured down his face and ran into his mouth. _

_Falling onto the ground in a daze, his head landed right by the single gravestone. He choked out another scream as he could finally read what the it read. _

**_Jennifer Jareau_**

**_Loving Mother and FBI Agent _**

**_Rest in Peace_**

_"No..." Reid stammered, trying to grasp what he was seeing. Everything was telling him that the gravestone was wrong, that someone was playing a terrible prank on him and just waiting for his reaction before popping out of nowhere. But no one did, and he couldn't help but watch helplessly as blood dripped onto the grave and run down it. _

_She couldn't be dead. She just couldn't. That would be impossible. Reid frantically thought for an answer, an explanation, ANYTHING. He never got a chance to... he never got the chance to.. _

_To tell her.. _

_"JJ!" Reid wailed, pulling at the dirt and grass. "NO! NO!" _

"Reid! Wake up!"

Reid sat up instantly, his chest heaving out as he hyperventilated. The view around him swam in his eyes, and he felt the distinct feeling that he was about to fall off of something. Then he felt something wrap around his neck and shaking him. His vision adjusted to the darkness around him and he saw a blurry JJ, who was staring at him with a worried expression.

"Reid, oh my god." she said, her voice soft. "You were having a nightmare. Are you okay?"

"I.." he huffed, trying to regain control of his mind. "I-it was just a nightmare."

"Yeah, I could tell." she said breathlessly, her eyes wide. They both sat there for a moment in silence, neither of them knowing to say. Reid felt his skin prickle uncomfortably as the memory of the gravestone popped up in his mind again, with JJ's name plastered on the front. For once in his life, he didn't have a clue why he would have a nightmare like that, and quite frankly, he didn't want to know.

"H-how are you feeling?" he stammered, trying to change the subject.

JJ gave him a small smile and held up her bandaged hands. "I'm sore, but I'll be alright."

"The doctor told us that you might need some space due to the trauma that you experienced," Reid babbled, unable to stop talking. "While you were unconscious you had a really bad nightmare, but the doctor said that was natural after something bad has happened. It has something to do with the psychic mind breaking apart and a new mind blending together to create a new reality..."

JJ poked him in the chest gently. "Alright genius, I get it. I went a little crazy."

"No, no," Reid stammered, his face blushing red at once. "You're not crazy... I-I didn't say that you were crazy."

"I was being crazy, Reid. It's fine, and I'll admit to it." she sighed. "And the doc was right, I was having a nightmare."

Reid pressed his lips together. "Do you want to talk about it? I mean, if you don't want to thats okay but perhaps talking about it would help..."

JJ chuckled, a smile actually lighting up her face in what seemed like forever. "Geez Reid, slow down." She chuckled for a couple seconds more before the smile faded from her face, and grief took its place. "I dreamed that I saw Will again. And Henry."

"JJ, I'm so sorry-" he said softly, but JJ put up her hand.

"I wanted them to stay with me, because I really miss them. I felt like my life was falling apart without them." JJ sniffled. "But I knew that they couldn't. They're not supposed to be here anymore, and they're supposed to move on. Will told me that.. that it was okay for me to move on, and that no matter what, he wouldn't forget about me and I wouldn't forget about him."

"Of course not." Reid said gently. "They're your family, JJ."

She shut her eyes and pushed back tears. "They are in my memories. But they're not my family anymore, Reid. They're gone and they're not coming back."

"You don't have to think of it that way." he protested.

"Yes I do." JJ said softly. "You know that its the truth."

He quietly looked at the ground. Truth be told, if he had lost his mother the same way JJ lost her son and husband, he wasn't sure he'd ever recover. She was putting on a brave face, doing the same thing she had been doing ever since the accident. He looked back up at her and caught a glimpse of her wiping at her face with her wrists.

"I'm here for you." he said quietly, feeling pathetic as he said it. What help was that going to do? "It may not be much but.."

"Its enough, Spence." JJ said. She put a hand over his and wrapped it slightly, the bandages rubbing roughly against his skin. She gave him a kind smile. "Thanks for being there for me."

Before he knew what was going on, JJ was in his arms, her head rubbing against his chest. Her own arms wrapped tightly around his waist, as though she didn't want to let go. Reid slowly put a hand on her back, trying to comfort her. He felt her sob quietly into his chest, her small hands fisting his shirt as she cried. He hugged her tightly and tried to channel positive thoughts to her, telling her telepathically that everything was going to be alright and that she was going to be okay. Her misery and pain wouldn't last forever, even though she felt like it would.

He knew exactly what that kind of pain felt like. And he was damned if he was going to let JJ feel the same way.

* * *

_Please review. :3_


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